Hemera/Thinkstock(WASHINGTON) -- In the court of public opinion, most Americans would pin the blame on Republican lawmakers if the country goes over the fiscal cliff.

A new survey by the Pew Research Center that concluded last Sunday found that 53 percent of respondents will hold Republicans responsible if no deal is reached with the White House to stop the rescinding of tax breaks for all Americans and the enactment of deep automatic spending reductions, which economists say will lead to another recession.

Just 27 percent of respondents said that the onus should fall on President Obama if the two sides can't reach an agreement by the end of the month.

Predictably, the bulk of people who identify themselves as Democrats support Obama while Republicans are sticking with GOP lawmakers.

Democrats are more inclined to believe a deal will happen, while Republicans and independents are more skeptical, the Pew survey says.

Fifty-seven percent say they understand the circumstances of what going over the fiscal cliff means and six in ten contend that should that happen, it will hurt both the economy and their personal finances.